THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Low Sunday

27 April 2025

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (St. John 20:19-31), we see that Jesus gave the Apostles and their successors the power to forgive us our sins.

Saint John Chrysostom reminds us to understand and appreciate this grace as well as those burdened with administering these graces to us. He says:

"Let us then do all things that may have the Spirit of God within us. And let us treat with reverence those to whose hands the work of the Spirit has been entrusted. For great is the dignity of the priesthood. Whose sins you shall forgive, He says, they are forgiven; and because of this, Paul says: Obey your prelates, and be subject to them (Heb. xiii. 7), and hold them in great reverence. For you have but the care of what concerns yourself, and if you look well after that, you will not be held accountable for what others do. But the priest, even should he order his own life in a fitting manner, yet does not scrupulously have due care for both your life, and the lives of those about him, shall go with the wicked into everlasting fire; and so he often times while not failing in his own conduct will perish because of yours, if he has not done all that belonged to him to do."

Our lives are not our own; we are interconnected with each other. Our physical or material lives are dependent upon those around us. We depend on the many food producers for our daily lives — the builders for our dwellings. Cloth and clothing manufacturers are responsible for what we wear. Our elders and teachers for our education. Etc.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. Most of us have our parents and godparents to thank for our Baptism and the life of Faith we received before we could make our own choices. We have the instructions and examples all around us to teach or demonstrate right and wrong — good and evil. God has placed all these people in our lives because He loves us. Above all these, God has given us His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He offers us spiritual life in Baptism, forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance, eternal life in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, etc.

In the Church, we find Jesus Christ in the Seven Sacraments, and through His priests, the Church administers these Sacraments to us.

True priests bear a heavy weight in administering God's graces for our souls' spiritual life. We need not be overly anxious for our priests. They bear many spiritual concerns for our salvation, but it is also true that God gives them the necessary graces to fulfill their obligations.

With great responsibilities come great rewards. God's grace is sufficient for us all. With the heavy cross, there is great joy and sweetness. The cross becomes light when we cooperate with the grace of God.

We should do all in our power to encourage and assist those whom God has called to this station in life. We fear that priestly vocations are often destroyed by well-intentioned people pointing out the difficulty and hardships of the priesthood. What is not mentioned enough is the corresponding graces and joys accompanying the willing embrace of the cross that Jesus holds out for us.

The priest is burdened with the care of his own soul, but as a loving father standing in the place of Jesus Christ, he weeps and offers his pains, sorrows, and sacrifices in reparation for our sins as well as his own.

The joy that we experience in the grace of a good confession perhaps pales with the joy that the priest receives in humbly being found worthy by God to assist us in the restoration of the life of our souls. It is incredibly humbling to stand in the place of God and with all faith and confidence to say to every penitent soul before you: "I forgive you your sins. Go in peace; your sins are forgiven to you." As humbling as the Sacrament of Penance is for the penitent, it is even more humbling for the priest. But with this humbling of our souls, there is great joy for the penitent, and I dare say even greater joy for the priest.

As we are commanded to respect, honor, and pray for our parents, we should respect, honor, and pray for our priests and spiritual parents with greater diligence.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!